At the End of the Masquerade

[Xindaris]

June 7th, 2010. A day that would go down in history.

It happened in America, of all places. Nobody who wasn't directly involved knew it was coming, and nobody was really prepared for it. On that day there was a march of over a hundred people on Washington, D.C. The number wasn't impressive, but rather what they were, what they admitted to being. All kinds of magical beings had been hiding in plain sight for centuries all over the world, and this group had resolved to end that secrecy once and for all.

The entire world was thrown into upheaval, as this one event sparked many other, similar ones, with many thought to be ordinary humans proving otherwise. Many places long hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated came into light, and work began on innumerable new laws to deal with the new appearance of the world. Our story, however, is not about the major players in the upheaval. Our story is about a relatively quiet suburb, and in particular a small circle of friends who lived there. Some were human, and some were not, but for the most part each believed all of the others to be. Our story is a microcosm of the day's society: What does one do when one's closest friends and neighbors have been lying, hiding perhaps their most important aspects?



Due to the nature of this RP, it will be one player per character, and needs at least 5 players and at most 10. Each player will be one of the circle of friends, in which each person is at least a friend of all the others. The player of a character is also responsible for his or her background characters, such as parents, enemies, friends outside of the circle, etc. I ask that anyone who joins this RP be as confident as possible that they can stay in it for the long haul, as replacement players will be difficult once it begins. This is essentially a drama RP, but touches of romance and comedy are fully welcome; working together with other players is likely to be essential. The story will begin with an event which forcibly or accidentally reveals one of the characters's supernatural qualities to all or most of the others, and move forward from there.

(Next post: Character sheet/listing)

 

[Xindaris]

Character Sheet:
I ask that you use this one, as it has some things that probably aren't in "standard" character sheets. Read, apply, and delete things in parentheses.

[noparse]Concise Summary: (Summarize what your character is in a phrase of no more than 5 words, however necessarily stereotypical or general a summary this makes.)

Name: (duh. First and last if not also middle)
Gender: (hoping for a close balance on this field, so make sure to check the other characters' genders first if you're willing to play whichever!)
Race: (that is, as a human. Caucasian, African-American, Asian, Hispanic, ETC.)
Age: (preferably 14-18, with a leaning toward the middle of that range)
Looks: (Picture and/or description of their everyday appearance; possibly include what sort of clothes they tend to wear in general, since this RP will take place over multiple days and most people don't wear the same clothes every day)

Supernatural?: (There needs to be at least two regular humans. If the answer is yes, please use the next two fields; if not, delete them.)
Kind: (what kind of magical creature, which may include simply mage/witch if the person is just a human who can use magic)
Powers: (what sort of supernatural powers the person has. Be as traditionally fantasy-like or original/unusual as you like.)

Personality: (How (s)he tends to act around other people, around their family, alone, and so on.)
Background: (Any important information about the person's past or present, possibly including their family situation and whatnot)

Relations: (This character's relationship to each other one that's been accepted. Edit in the characters accepted later than this one afterward. Make sure to cooperate with the other characters' creators when you can about this.)[/noparse]

Character Listing:

Amara Hizayo-Hotheaded, thick skulled young woman; mundane human [jovianthundergod]

Darius Mandel Lorlith-Normal drama geek/skeptic; mundane human [Vay]

Anna Jade Miller-Tough chick, protective friend; werewolf [Xindaris]

Maru Nishikawa-Tokyo fashion, shape-shifting jokester; changeling [Doyoubi no Onna]

Zoey Corvus-Sweet, fidgety, loud, clean-freak; crow-harpy [lydia]

 

[Jovian]

Concise Summary: Hotheaded, thick skulled young woman

Name: Amara Hizayo
Gender: Female
Race: Asian
Age: 17
Looks: Olive skin, dark brown eyes, long straight black hair. Generally wears baggy jeans and t-shirts. Prefers to look androgynous but won't cut her hair.

Supernatural?: No

Personality: Amara is hotheaded, she doesn't listen to others well, and refuses to admit she's wrong. However, that doesn't mean she's a bad person to be around. When she makes a good friend, she tends to think more of them rather than herself. She doesn't like her family, would rather not associate with them because she doesn't like her heritage as a young Asian woman.

Background: She was bullied in school because of her looks. She had been an awkward looking child, and she had since rectified it. Parents divorced when she was almost 13, which resulted in her becoming even more hardened than she was due to the bullying but also giving her a great friend. She has only one true sibling, a younger brother, since she doesn't really consider her father's "new" children as her siblings. Both children wound up with their mother, and their father remarried quickly while their mother did not because she focused solely on raising the two children.

Relations:
Maru: When Amara's father remarried, his new wife had a son from a previous marriage. Making Maru her new stepbrother.

Ann: Once her bully, Ann became Amara's closest friend after the divorce when Amara was in need of someone to lean on. Their friendship had been rocky before that, but became quite strong.

Not done yet. Still thinking of background information.

 

[Vay]

Concise Summary: Normal drama geek/skeptic

Name: Darius Mandel Lorlith
Gender: Male
Race: Caucasian
Age: 18
Looks:

Usually a shirt and jeans but sometimes on a whim something a bit more extravagant.

Supernatural?: Nope normal human right here.
Kind: Not applicable
Powers: Can fit a whole burger in his mouth =D

Personality: The geeky best friend. Hes all into street magic and a little weird but harmless until riled, when he is though he shows the surprising bite that could only come from a protective big brother. Excitable (especially about his pet love, drama) and somewhat full of himself he does always like to do that he does with a certain 'flare' that gets irritating.
Background: Local, born and bred, his family has recently been split in two with his father getting custody of him and his mother of his sister but hes keeping a positive outlook as his 5 year of sister sneaks onto video calls with him most nights.

Relations:

Zoey: Although though personalities were opposites Darius was drawn to the shy girl and because a mixture of protector and friend. Although she was shy at first their debates on the supernatural, Darius always playing the role of the skeptic soon became one of the simple joys he looked forwards to each day and despite Zoey's arguments he remains unconvinced, and to him the supernatural will sadly forever only be home in the imagination, to believe otherwise is.... childish, but Zoey's insistent belief is endearing.

 

[Xindaris]

Vay: Good, hope to see a character soon.

jovianthundergod: Hmm...I doubt you're the jovian I know of...you're not an MSPA fan, are you?
Anyway, I think it's going to be okay but I really need a bit more elaboration, particularly in background. I'd like to know more of your character's history, at least as much as some good friends would likely be aware of. Since, well, we're going to need to play like our characters have known each other for quite some time.


Other: I'm working on my character, and for the record, it's a girl.

 

[Jovian]

I'll work on that and add it as I think of things.

 

[Vay]

Debating weather or not to go as a super or not.

 

[Xindaris]

Here's my character. Haven't quite decided how I want relations to go...


Concise Summary: Tough chick, protective friend

Name: Anna Jade Miller (goes by "Ann")
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
Age: 16
Looks: A little taller than average, with a fairly athletic frame. Shoulder-length blonde hair, and green eyes. Tends to wear more casual clothes; jeans, capris, or shorts are preferred over skirts, though she'll wear one every once in a while.

Supernatural?: Yes
Kind: Werewolf
Powers: Transformation into a werewolf, which is involuntary on the night of the full moon. Being a werewolf also gives her somewhat heightened senses of smell and hearing while in human form. Also somewhat talented, though barely trained, in electricity-manipulation magic. She knows how to avoid using it involuntarily, and how to defend herself in an emergency, but that's about it.

Personality: Ann is somewhat of an optimist, preferring a smile to a frown any day. When among friends, she can be obnoxiously happy and talkative, but with strangers or acquaintances she's much more reserved and calm. She can be a little protective, and has no tolerance for anything she percieves as bullying. Usually she tries to deal with such situations diplomatically, but if necessary she'll throw herself into a fight to protect the weaker party. This applies even if her contribution isn't enough to 'save' the one she's helping.

Background: Ann has two loving, decent parents who only want the best for her, and no siblings. They are both werewolves, and she was born one as a result. They met as part of a full-fledged pack of werewolves, but moved not long after getting married. In the present, they live quietly, like many suburban only-child families do. The three of them usually go to a family reunion once every year or two, so she has at least met the rest of the pack, but she still prefers her friends near home to them.

When she was younger, around 10-12, Anna was physically a little tougher than other kids, and used to be a bit of a bully. When her parents found out, they did all they could to take her off of that path, and eventually succeeded.

Ann is routinely on the women's soccer, tennis, basketball, or volleyball team at school depending on the time of year and what fits her present schedule. She isn't the best sports player ever, but she does stick out as one of the better players most of the time. She makes passing grades, nothing too special but good enough that none could accuse her of being a pure jock.

Relations:

Amara-During Anna's "bully phase", Amara was one of her victims. Ann's parents were quite insistent about making up with her as well as the other victims, and Ann made a genuine effort to make a new start with her. It was in the late stages of the awkward "enemies-turned-friends" phase that Amara's parents were divorced, and they became better friends as Ann tried to help her out, being a shoulder to lean on.

Maru-Ann's first conversation with Maru was not long after she witnessed him pranking an unwary victim, and it was less than friendly. Fortunately that wasn't their only conversation; they got to know each other a little better over time, and she became mostly accepting of his behavior once it was clear it wasn't mean-spirited or malevolent.

 

[Dawn]

Concise Summary: Tokyo fashion, shape-shifting jokester.

Name: Maru Nishikawa
Gender: Preferably male
Race: Japanese
Age: 18
Looks: An avid follower of Tokyo fashion, Maru dresses perhaps a bit differently than most people his age. His style could be described as a mix between scene, punk, and hipster.

His physical features are proof of his Japanese blood: olive skin, vividly brown feminine eyes, and a small chin. He stands at five feet and seven inches, just above average height, which of course helps when he shapeshifts into a woman. His hair is mostly a vibrant red with a bit of black undertone, the sides of his head shaved, the back of his hair cut to varying lengths, the top long, bangs trailing into his face. It never takes him much time to style his hair in the morning, though it takes a lot to keep the red looking fresh and solid.

Supernatural?: Yes
Kind: Shape-shifter / Chameleon
Powers: No, he can't turn into a potato. No, he can't turn into something that doesn't exist, like some alien creature from outerspace. What he can and often will do is mirror other people, change his limb structure, and become invisible. He's a shape-shifter because he can regrow limbs to a certain degree and tamper with their structure on a massive scale, but only temporarily. He's a chameleon because he can alter his body enough to look like another person, even right down to the gender. He can even, with the right environment, make himself blend into the background. Limitations? He can't change the overall volume of his body, which means he can't become someone twice his size or vice versa. He also can't change the shape of his brain or heart, which means he can't become paper thin or suffer damage in either area.

Personality: A bit of a jokester, Maru seldom lets his personal problems come to light when he's around his friends. He's the kind of guy that will almost always force a smile and insist that everything's alright, even if it really isn't. On the outside, he's the cool, carefree guy that everyone admires but inside, his mind is a whirlpool of worry, frustration, and self-dislike.

He loves playing pranks and jokes on not only his friends but anyone he sets his eyes on. He's always up for a bit of adventure and usually the first to volunteer. He often teases in an affectionate manner. Friends are valuable, probably even his most prized possessions, so he can at times seem a little motherly.

His attitude toward his 'gift' is muddled. He was taught at an early age that his abilites should be seen not as warping himself but rather as art; a way of turning himself into a canvas. However, at times he falls into self-loathing simply because he wishes to be normal and accepted as such.
Background: Life was a struggle when it was just him and his mother. He never knew his father and though he didn't miss the man, he wish the guy had stuck around long enough to help him understand just what he was. With no one to explain to him about his supernatural powers, Maru grew up struggling to be the normal kid, wishing it weren't just a mask he put on everyday before stepping outside. When he was eight, his mother managed to contact others like him - shapeshifters and chameleons - and he was taken under their care for four years while he learned to fully master his abilities. Two years after he returned to his mother, she began dating a horrible man and despite their obvious dislike for each other, Maru could tell the man made his mother very happy, so they reluctantly called a truce. Soon enough, his mother married. By then, Maru was fourteen, nearly fifteen. Not long after, his baby brother was born.

Because his step-father is a wealthy man, Maru gets whatever he wants, though he's not one to ask for anything ridiculous like an expensive car. Despite a steady, generous allowance, he also has a part-time job working in a music store because music, along with fashion and art, is the love of his life.

Relations: He has a baby brother, the product of his mother's and step-father's marriage and though he acts like he hates the kid, he's actually really protective and fond of the young boy.

Amara
It was a shock when he found out his step-father was Amara Hizayo's real father! They'd never met prior to high school but somehow, he'd found her a lot more likeable than the man they both call "father". Out of all of his friends, he's least likely to tease Amara but rather she brings out a certain motherly quality in him in the sense that he'll often seem very protective of her.

Zoey
When they were younger, Maru just couldn't help but tease someone as skittish as Zoey. They were in the same classes despite their different ages because Maru was unfortunately held back a year. This gave the jokester ample opportunity to tease Zoey. She didn't seem to like it very much though, so he kindly backed off and left her alone. That is, until she was introduced to his group of friends. She seemed a little braver in Maru's opinion, so he picked up his teasing again, pleased that this time around Zoey understood that he wasn't trying to be mean; he just enjoyed joking around with the people he cherished.

Anna
Maru's first meeting of Ann was just a little bit terrifying. That girl could be quite intimidating when she needed to and at that point, she obviously had felt the need. After being 'bitched out' about his behaviour, Maru had made a silent promise to keep as far away from that scary girl as possible! But as time went on, he found that was impossible, especially when they happened to share friends. Thankfully, soon enough Ann started to understand that his joking was affectionate rather than mean and they quickly made peace with one another. Ann is pretty much his Jiminy Cricket and she definitely puts her foot down when his teasing and pranking gets out of hand.

Darius
Nothing yet.

PM me if this needs tweaking <3

 

[Xindaris]

Alright! This is excellent news. Vay (when your appearance is done) and Dawn, both your characters are good.

I guess we should try and figure out any more special dynamics that there could be between particular pairs of characters, possibly work out how some of them met...I really wish I could get everyone in a chat together on MSN or something.

Still open for a 5th character at the moment though, if anyone happens to suddenly be interested in this.

 

[Dawn]

"protective big brother" "excitable" "likes to do what he does with a certain flare"

Vaybro, our characters sound like two peas in a pod :D
Why do I see those two making silly banter back and forth and suggesting crazy things the group could do while hanging out?

 

[badonk]

Concise Summary: sweet, fidgety, loud, clean-freak

Name: Zoey Corvus
Gender: female
Race: caucasian
Age: 17
Looks:

(no tattoo)
she wears lots of black clothing, black sweaters, black jeans, black shoes.
her hair is almost always down and is often a bit messy.
she has black eyes and pale skin, she never wears makeup.

Supernatural?: yes
Kind: crow-harpy (AKA: bird shapeshifter)
Powers: she has the ability to turn into a bird-being as well as a bird, she can fly in both those forms.

Personality: Zoey is a loud girl by nature, always laughing and chatting. Constantly fidgeting, she can never focus on one thing for too long. Despite being loud and friendly she strongly values her alone time and gets incredibly upset when people touch her personal things. Like the bird she is she is easily startled by loud noises and tends to get flustered easily. Cleanliness is important to her and she takes wonderful care of her hair, skin and nails. She is incredibly loyal to her friends and never fails to show affection to those she loves, the opposite goes for people she has issues with. Zoey has been in a few more fights than she likes to admit. She has a terrible singing voice, which really upsets her.
Background: Zoey hasn't always been so loud and friendly, as a younger child she was very anxious and timid, hardly speaking to anyone. Once puberty hit and she realized that because of her gift she was in fact special and interesting, she started talking to people and quickly made friends. Because of her boring childhood she loves to keep things fun and always wants to go out with her friends. Her parents know what she is because her father is one too, her mother is a human. They have kept it secret since she was born, and of course she doesn't want anyone to know.

Relations:
- Maru -
When Zoey was younger and more timid there was a boy who would always make loud sounds to watch her jump and squeak and cover her ears. Obviously she wasn't fond of him because of this, so it was a pinch awkward that when she came out of her shell more he happened to be part of her friend group. Yeah, Maru still tormented her with the sudden loud sounds, but at lest now she could laugh about it. Despite the rocky start Zoey enjoys Maru's jokes and he is often a reason she loses herself in fits of laughter (whether he always does it on purpose or not is up for speculation.)

- Darius -
Though she was timid when she was little there was a boy who coaxed Zoey to talk with conversations about the supernatural and other similar topics. Because of what she was she felt the need to suggest to the skeptical boy that perhaps he was wrong about his views on all things paranormal, which she knew for a fact he was. She never pushed it too far, knowing her parents didn't want anyone to know, but she would always stick up for the idea of the supernatural. She grew close to this boy and came to love him quite dearly, despite his unshakable skepticism. Darius truly was her best friend and she always made sure he knew it, no matter how much he denied what she really was without even knowing it.

 

[Xindaris]

This is just to note that Zoey's accepted, and I plan to update the character list so it's no longer empty. Do try to fill out the remaining holes, Vay and Jovian!

Also, I'd like everyone to look through all the other profiles here and see if they can come up with any links that might work between characters (other than the ones we already know about), and if you think of something contact the character's owner about it. Background and personality are probably the most important to this. I'll be doing it too!
The goal of this is to have a more complex web of relations to make the pre-established "they're all friends" premise feel more real, and perhaps even help make conversation slightly easier to write.

 

[badonk]

I'm excited for this to get started. It'll be my first rp on Iwaku.

 

[Xindaris]

So, uh, guys...about that first post for the IC of this...uh...well...









I FINALLY GOT IT OUT OF MY BRAIN!

So yeah, please be sure to read my post as events reported in it are vitally important. Other than that, let loose and let's go!

(Also, feel free to add your own details to the event in a flashback of your own.)